THE MYTH OF ORPHEUS. PARALLEL BETWEEN THE ANCIENT POETRY OF OVID AND VERGIL AND THE MUSIC FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE 17TH CENTURY COMPOSED BY CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
THE MYTH OF ORPHEUS. PARALLEL BETWEEN THE ANCIENT POETRY OF OVID AND VERGIL AND THE MUSIC FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE 17TH CENTURY COMPOSED BY CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI

Summary/Abstract: Through time, some were impressed by the power of which Orpheus’s poetry and song subjugated surrounding beings; others were inspired by the love-story of Orpheus and his wife, Eurydice, or by Orpheus’s journey in the Underworld. Also, there were some attempts to explain from a psychological perspective, why Orpheus made that reckless gesture of gazing at his beloved wife before it was time. The dramatic double loss of his loved-one is another topic that evolved over time. The complexity of the character and his enchanted life story are two major reasons why this episode of Hellenic mythology has survived throughout the centuries, remaining an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the humanity’s creative mind. The central topic of this study is the myth of Orpheus viewed as the foundation of the first operas. This character was not a random choice by the initiators of this musical genre. His connection with music and poetry (the two elements that represented the foundation of the first operas) was most suitable to exploit new forms of harmony, orchestration and vocal melody. These searches have found their answer in the first musical drama masterpiece, La favola d`Orfeo (music: Claudio Monteverdi, libretto: Alessandro Striggio).

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